Chairman's Message

As a young boy in the late 1960’s, I can remember going squirrel hunting with my Grandfather.We would roam the Mingo County hills of West Virginia in his old 1953 Willys pickup, pull over and then walk the logging roads looking for busy tails.At the time, I was hunting with a 12-gauge-bolt-action Sears shotgun.That gun weighed nearly as much as I did.My Grandfather passed down his love of the outdoors to me.My Grandfather and his Willys pickup are no longer around, but his passion for the outdoors still lives in me.

I’ve been hunting for 45 years now, and have been a bow hunter for the last 25 years.In those years, I have managed to take a few nice deer and bear with my bow.A couple of those critters managed to make Pope & Young status while two animals, a deer and a bear, meet the Boone & Crockett requirements.My wife, Jennifer, has always allowed me to pursue my hunting dreams throughout our marriage.She does not hunt, but she is a great “wild game” chef.Nowadays, my “serious” hunting has been put on hold while my kids’ sports and school activities have become more prominent.Cassie, my 12-year-old daughter, is involved in volleyball at school and Nathan, my 9-year-old son, is playing fall baseball right now.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to attend a “Boone & Crockett Measurers Training Workshop” that was held in Logan, WV.The class lasted five days and we were required to measure every animal recognized by the Boone & Crockett Club.So, if any of you members need an animal scored which may make Boone & Crockett or Pope & Young, just give me a call.

Presidential Note:Greg has a real passion for recording and studying big game records.When John Edman resigned his position as Records Chairman (after many years), no one was willing to “step-up”, until now. After learning of Greg’s passion for this, I approached him with the idea of becoming our Big Game Records Chairman to maintain the WV Record Book.Greg has accepted the position and attended the Boone & Crockett class on his own time and personal expense.Greg will be working cooperatively with the WV DNR in gathering information of hunters who qualify for entry from measured animals.Greg also has some exciting plans and ideas on using our website to provide easy access to this information for our members.I hope you get to know Greg by meeting him at some of our events and as he mentioned, give him a call if you need an animal scored.